Untitled
by KittyLilly
Summary: Loosely based on the Grimms' fairy tale The Pink. Originally written for an english assignment. Please, Read and Review. Rated Kplus just to be safe.


I wrote this as a discriptive narrative for my freshman composition class, and got a decent grade on it, so I thought I share it. It is loosely based on the Grimms' fairy tale, "The Pink," and for those who don't know--since no one who read it at school seemed to--a pink _is _an actual flower, having five petals and usually pale red or pink in color.

Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome, but NO FLAMES! If you don't like this, I don't want to hear it.

* * *

In a cozy little cottage, in the dense woodland of a long-forgotten kingdom, there lived a withered old man and his young son, who was gifted with an amazing power: that he should have anything he might wish for.

Now, one might think that with this astonishing gift, the young man would have been more spoiled and selfish than the world's wealthiest royals, but he treated every stranger as though he were a life-long friend, and refused to use his power for personal gain, wisely feeling that such a wondrous gift should only be used for the benefit of others.

One day, the old man took his son aside, telling him, "Your gift should no longer be confined to this old house. Go out into the world, where your gift may be used for the greater good." The son bid his father a fond farewell, walked out the door, and was soon lost to sight in the thick forest.

The young man had been traveling only a short while before he came upon two peasant men fishing in a stream. Both were filthy, as though they had not bathed in some time, and their clothes looked as though they had been made from strips of cloth tied together with pieces of string. When the young man asked who they were, they explained that they were brothers, born into poverty on the streets, and owned only the clothes on their backs and a pair of crudely-made fishing poles, with which they were attempting to catch a fish for supper. As the young man listened, he felt great pity for the two, and thought to wish for them to catch a fish on their lines, but realized that one or even two fish would not for long satisfy the raging hunger the brothers had surely felt all their lives. So instead, he wished that they might each snare a bag of gold on their hooks, and not a moment later did one of the brothers let out a shout of joy and surprise as he pulled from the stream a large sack, filled to bursting with gold coins. No sooner had the second brother observed this than he, too, lifted an equally heavy sack of gold from the water. Certain the young man had done something to cause their good fortune, the two brothers thanked him many times, shaking his hands until his arms tired. Finally he took his leave of the fishermen, wishing them good luck with their newfound fortune, and continued on his journey.

When night fell, he began to search for shelter, finally entering a clearing in the woods, where before him stood an old, run-down house. Windows were broken, walls laced with cracks, and the door was coming off its hinges. He would have thought the house abandoned but for the old man sitting in a wooden chair outside. Approaching, the young man asked if he might have shelter for the night, and the old man agreed, directing him to a spare room inside. As the young man prepared for bed, he heard a sound in the next room, where, upon investigation, he found a young woman, weeping in the corner. She was quite beautiful, with long, sun-kissed curls, and when she lifted her eyes to meet his, he found them to be the color of pale sapphires. When asked why she wept, she answered, "He has found a new servant, and I shall soon be turned to stone." The old man, she explained, was actually a wicked sorcerer, who feigned kindness to weary travelers when asked for shelter, then forced them to work as servants until another came, when they would be turned to stone.

First horrified, then angered by the tale, the young man took the girl's hand, assured her that she would not be turned to stone, then wished her into a pink, so that he could keep her safely in his pocket. He then returned to his own room, shutting the door just as the old man came down the corridor. The sorcerer first went to the girl's room, howling in fury when he found her gone, then burst into the young man's room, demanding the girl's whereabouts. When the young man refused, the sorcerer moved to attack him, but the young man was quicker, wishing the old man into a twig, to which the young man set fire, destroying the wicked sorcerer forever.

Fleeing into the forest, the young man made sure to put some distance between him and the sorcerer's house before he removed the pink from his pocket and wished for the young woman to resume her proper form. A moment later she stood before him, and upon realizing that they were free of the sorcerer, she embraced her rescuer and thanked him. She then revealed that she was the eldest daughter of the King, and insisted that they return to her father's castle at once. Along the way, the princess told the young man that she, along with her two cousins, had been kidnapped some time ago by an evil witch who, at the time, had worked for the old sorcerer. Shortly afterwards, there was a falling-out between the two evil-doers, and the sorcerer turned the witch into stone, keeping the princess as his servant and banishing her two cousins from his house. They were told, however, that they were not to reveal their true identities to anyone, nor could they tell anyone the whereabouts of the sorcerer and the princess, lest they be turned to stone where they stood. Here the young man asked if the two fishermen he had encountered earlier in his travels were the cousins she spoke of. She confirmed this, and asked him to take her to them. Only a short while later they happened upon the pair, still sitting by the stream. They recognized the young man at once, and upon seeing their cousin with him, they both took it in turns to embrace her, happy to see her free of the sorcerer at last.

From the stream, the four traveled to the king's castle, where all were greeted by the king himself, who was relieved and overjoyed to see his daughter and nephews returned safely to him. The young man later married the princess, and ascended to the throne upon her father's death, using his wonderful gift to help all the people of his kingdom, and lived happily with his bride and her cousins for the rest of their lives.


End file.
